HX641 37392 
QP306  .C94  The  effects  on  the  \ 


^ECAP 


ON  THE  VOCAL  CORDS 


OF   IMPROPER    METHODS    OF 


Voice  Production  and  their  Remedy 


BY 


H.  HOLBROOK  CURTIS,  M.  D.  Pli.  B. 


liS  Madison  Avf.,  Npal  Y'tyk. 


PRESENTED    AT    THE 

PAN-AMERICAN  MEDICAL  CONGRESS, 

Washington,  D.  C  1893. 

COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  PHYSIOLOGY 

College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons 

READ    BY    INVITATION    BEFO^O^F  '^"^  '''^T"  ST«E6T 

NEW  YORK 

NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSIC  TEACH ER^HpSQCI.  TION, 

RDcTiextcr.  I8a:i. 


New  York 
EDGAR  S.  WERNER 


C(/^Jr?^ 


^Ls^ 


CDlutttbia  S!nit)ersiitp 
intlieCitpoflirtutork 

College  of  ^\^^i\i\m^  anb  burgeons! 


Hifararp 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  witli  funding  from 

Open  Knowledge  Commons  (for  the  Medical  Heritage  Library  project) 


http://www.archive.org/details/effectsonvocalcoOOcurt 


THE 

EFFECTS  ON  THE  VOCAL  CORDS 

OF  IMPROPER    METHODS    OF 

Voice  Production  and  their  Remedy 


BY 

H.  HOLBROOK  CURTIS,  M.  D.  Pli.  B. 

us  Madison  Ave.,  New  York. 


PRESENTED    AT    THE 

PAN-AMERICAN  MEDICAL  CONGRESS, 

Washington,  D.  0.,  1S93. 


READ    BY    INVITATION    BEFORE    THE 

NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSIC  TEACHERS'  ASSOCIATION, 

Rochester,  1803. 


New  York 

PDGAR  S.  WERNER 

1894. 


THE  DYNAMICS  OF  SINGING. 

By  H.  Holbrooe  Curtis,  M.  D.,  of  New  York. 

It  would  be  strange  indeed,  if  a  laryngologist  who  was  daily  m  the 
habit  of  examining  very  many  throats  of  singers  did  not  have  his 
attention  particularly  attracted  to  the  difference  in  the  appearance  of 
the  glottis  as  the  direct  result  of  different  methods  of  voice-production. 
Several  years  ago,  as  early  as  1884,  I  observed,  that  many  pupils  of  a 
certain  professor  of  singing,  presented  marked  peculiarities  in  regard  to 
the  position  of  the  free  borders  of  the  vocal-bands.  The  slightly  ellip- 
tical shape  of  the  chink  of  the  glottis  which  this  class  of  pupils  pre- 
sented, in  emitting  the  usual  sounds  to  allow  the  proper  view  of  the 
larynx,  led  me  to  inquire  as  to  the  particular  method  of  teaching,  which 
would  produce  in  so  many  throats  a  typical  appearance.  I  soon  found 
out  that  these  pupils  were  in  the  habit  of  taking  daily  exercises  almost 
entirely  on  a  single  vowel,  that  single  vowel  being  the  letter  "O." 
The  vocal  cords  appeared  striated,  with  frequently  a  congested  area  at 
their  anterior  attachment.  Frequently  a  nodule,  more  or  less  defined, 
would  be  observed  about  the  center  of  the  free  edges  on  either  cord : 
this  is  a  picture  which  every  laryngologist  will  recognize.  Another  type 
of  which  the  study  is  most  interesting,  is  that  of  a  class  of  pupils 
undergoing  instruction  at  a  conservatory,  where  the  pernicious  Fi-ench 
method,  the  so-called  stroke  of  the  glottis  (coup  de  glotte),  is  daily 
practised.  In  this  type  the  writer  has  observed  the  middle-third  of 
the  cords  to  be  slightly  bulged,  the  cords  presenting  a  convexity,  in 
contradistinction  to  the  concavity  exhibited  in  the  last  group.  These 
pupils  had  been  singing  chiefly  on  the  vowel  "A,"  pronounced  as  "Ah" 
in  English,  and  with  the  emission  of  each  note  the  middle  portion  of 
the  cords  would  clash  and  by  constant  attrition  become  hardened  and 
callous.  The  cords  in  this  particular  type  do  not  usually  show  con- 
gestion ;  their  appearance  is  usually  of  a  good  pearl  color  and  healthy- 
looking  in  every  way.  The  complaint  which  they  make  upon  consul- 
tation, is  a  difficulty  in  singing  the  so-called  viezza  voce  and  a  lack  of 
richness  of  tone  and  timbre,  with  extreme  weakness  of  two  or  three 
notes  in  the  upper-medium  register.  It  was  these  two  opposite  ap- 
pearances of  vocal  cords,  which  are  every  day  observed  in  singers' 
throats,  that  led  to  an  investigation  of  methods  employed  by  the 
various  schools  of  singing,  and  has  opened  up  a  field  which  I  think 
has  been  entirely  neglected,  though  of  the  greatest  importance  to  every 
laryngologist  who  has  to  do  with  the  singing  voice. 

Two  names  are  intimately  linked  with  the  traditions  of  method  in 


—  4  — 

sinking:  Those  of  the  older  Lamperti,  (that  ilhistrious  exponent  of  the 
best  Italian  school)  and  Mandl,  who  by  his  ingenious  arguments,  though 
founded  on  a  false  physiological  basis,  succeeded  in  completely  over- 
turning the  art  of  voice-production  which  previously  had  been  taught 
throughout  Europe.  He  substituted  in  i)lace  of  the  so-called  Italian 
school  a  method  of  al)doniinal  resi)iration,  which  was  at  t)n(>e  adopted 
in  the  Paris  Conservatory,  and  has  obtained  to  within  the  last  three 
years  an  almost  universal  recognition  in  the  best  schools  of  the 
Continent. 

It  is  the  writer's  purpose,  without  going  t^io  deeply  into  the  history 
of  singing,  to  discuss  the  various  methods  of  respiration  and  initial 
tone-jiroduction,  and  to  show,  by  a  series  of  exi)eriments  made  upon 
individuals,  the  effects  of  certain  methods  of  voice-building,  hoping  to 
arrive  at  some  definite  conclusion  as  regards  the  proper  exercise  and 
jiosition  of  the  larynx  and  consequently  jn-oper  tension  of  the  vocal 
cords,  during  tone  emission.  For  the  brief  historical  sketch  which  I 
shall  give,  I  am  indebted  almost  entirely  to  the  able  article  of  Dr.  Joal 
of  ]\Iont-Dore,  which  appeared  in  the  Revue  de  Laryngologie  d'Oto- 
logie  et  de  Rhinologie,  Nos.  8,  9  and  10,  1892,  Paris.  The  position  which 
Dr.  Joal  occupies  at  Mont  Dore  (the  favorite  resort  of  almost  all  the 
European  artists)  has  enabled  him  to  consult  freely,  for  a  number  of 
years,  the  most  distinguished  vocal  talent  in  Europe,  and  his  views 
upon  voice-production  should  be  carefully  read  by  every  instructor 
who  wishes  to  profit  by  the  exceptional  opportunities  which  that  author 
has  enjoyed.  One  cannot  read  his  able  discourse  upon  the  singing- 
voice  without  feeling  that  his  every  utterance  is  ex  cathedra.  In  1842 
Beau  and  Maissait  divided  the  respiration  of  singers  into  three  charac- 
teristic tyi)es :  the  superior-costal,  inferior-costal  and  abdominal.  The 
superior-costal  may  be  illustrated  as  the  breathing  of  a  woman  tightly 
laced ;  the  respiratory  expansion  taking  place  chiefly  in  the  cone  of  the 
thoracic  cavity,  the  upper  ribs,  collar-bone  and  sternum  rising  and 
falling  during  the  respiratory  act.  In  the  inferior  costal  type,  the  in- 
ferior ribs  (commencing  with  the  seventh  downward)  are  rotated  and 
elevated ;  the  sternum  moving  only  in  its  infeiior  portion,  the  abdomi- 
nal wall  being  contracted  during  the  respiratory  act.  In  the  true  abdo- 
minal type,  the  thorax  is  supposed  to  remain  completely  fixed,  the  dia- 
phragm taking  the  ribs  as  a  fixed  point,  lowering  the  abdominal 
viscera,  thus  distending  the  wall  of  the  abdomen  in  inspiration.  It  is 
this  latter  type  of  breathing,  which  has-  been  taught  for  the  last  thirty 
years  in  Fi-ance.  Mengozzi,*  together  with  the  masters  of  one  of  the 
conservatories,  determined  upon  the  following  rules  illustrative  of  the 
breathing  of  singers:  "The  respiratory  act  in  singing  difl:ers  somewhat 
from  that  used  in  speaking.  In  speaking,  the  abdomen  is  extended  in 
inspiration  and  recedes  in  expiration,  while  in  singing,  the  abdomen 
must  be  drawn  in  during  inspiration,  returning  slowly  to  its  natural  state 

*  Op.  Cit. 


as  the  chest  contracts  in  expiration,  thus  retaining  as  a  negative  force  the 
air  which  has  been  introduced  into  the  lungs."  In  a  revision  of  this 
method,  published  in  1866  by  Baptiste,  these  laws  are  repeated,  with  the 
addition  of  a  note  by  Dr.  Mandl  (the  apostle  of  abdominal  respiration),  who 
advocated  the  advancing  of  the  abdomen  in  inspiration.  Mandl  carried 
his  point  and  his  ideas  became  generally  adopted  by  the  Conservatory. 
M.  Bonheur  and  Dr.  Cheval,  of  Brussels,  advocated  the  superior-costal 
type  of  breathing,  in  contradistinction  to  the  method  of  Mandl.  Mandl 
in  his  work  states  that  the  larynx  becomes  very  much  depressed  and 
the  glottis  enlarged  in  the  costal-method  of  respiration.  Joal  answers 
him  in  these  words :  "We  do  not  find  this  depression  of  the  larynx 
referred  to  in  any  of  our  classical  treatises  on  physiology,  anatomy, 
nor  in  any  one  of  the  numerous  works  which  have  appeared  since  1855 
on  laryngology ;  consequently,  we  suppose  that  writers  do  not  share  the 
ideas  of  Mandl  on  the  subject.  Besides,  we  have  examined  a  number 
of  persons  whom  we  engaged  to  breathe  alternately  from  the  abdomen 
and  from  the  shoulders.  We  ourselves,  in  singing,  have  often  observed 
the  movements  of  our  larynx,  and  we  have  never  observed  that  the  cla- 
vicular inspiration  caused  the  thyroid  to  fall."  Nicaise  explains  this  fact 
by  demonstrating,  experimentally,  that  during  strong  inspirations  the 
trachea  contracts  and  becomes  shorter,  which  draws  down  the  larynx  * 

It  is  very  difficult  for  a  professional  man  to  take  cases  of  distin- 
guished singers  in  his  own  private  practice  and  hold  them  up  by  name 
as  models  of  perfection  of  certain  types.  Joal  made  the  assertion  in  an 
article  published  in  1890,  that  great  artists,  especially  women,  used  the 
superior-costal  method.  The  distinguished  critic  of  "Le  Temps"  chal- 
lenged Dr.  Joal  at  once  to  mention  some  of  these  artists ;  the  Doctor 
responded :  "I  Avould  be  happy  to  gratify  Mr.  Weber's  desire,  but  it  is 
very  difficult  for  a  physician  to  go  into  personalities  and  to  say  that  a 
certain  singer  is  using  a  vocal  method  considered  disastrous  and  exe- 
crable by  masters  of  criticism."  Melchissedec,  however,  offered  him- 
self as  an  example  of  the  superior-costal  respiration,  saying  that  it  had 
enabled  him  to  sing  constantly  for  twenty-five  years.  Both  his  strength 
of  tone  and  tremendous  endurance,  with  an  almost  perfect  glottis, 
attest  that  the  method  has  not  been  injurious  to  him. 

The  abdominal  method  of  breathing  has  many  powerful  advocates : 
M.  Obin  and  M.  Faure,  for  example,  speak  most  highly  of  it :  Shake- 
speare, of  London,  Behnke  and  Lennox  Browne  are  also  its  advocates. 
The  instructors  of  both  methods  are  veiy  apt  to  quote  great  artists  as 
the  exponents  of  their  particular  school.  Joal  cites  the  case  of  Rubini, 
the  celebrated  tenor,  who  Massini  and  his  pupils  declare,  originated 
abdominal  respiration;  Bonheur,  on  the  contrary,  states  that  he  ex- 
panded his  upper  chest ;  AValshe  even  going  so  far  as  to  say  that  he 
fractured  his  collar-bone  in  making  a  violent  effort  to  reach  B-flat  in 
"The  Talisman  of  Pacini."  Lablache  and  Laget  acknowledged  that,  in 
*  Revue  de  Medecine,  1889. 


—  G  — 

spite  of  long  and  attentivp  observation,  they  had  not  been  able  to  dis- 
tinguish in  the  theatre  liow  this  illustrious  tenor  breathed.  Joal  goes 
on  to  stat«  that  the  famous  Lamperti  is  alternately  represented  as  a 
l)artisiin  or  opponent  of  the  abdominal  type  of  breathing,  but  I  think 
that,  having  treated  many  of  the  elder  Lamjierti's  pupils  and  interro- 
gated them  very  particularly  upon  this  question.  I  may  unhesitatingly 
aflirni  that  the  elder  Lamperti  was  a  strong  advocate  of  the  lower 
cost^il-respiration,  always  arguing  that  the  abdominal  wall  should 
remain  (luiet,  or  be  slightlj'  drawn  in  during  inspiration.  The  evidence 
of  C'ampanini,  Jean  de  Reszke  and  Clara  Heyeu  is  in  support  of  the 
above.  Joal  says  if  we  except  the  works  of  Laget  and  Bonheur  we  find 
nowhere  the  praise  of  clavicular  breathing  in  men.  The  ancient  method 
of  the  Paris  Conservatory  and  the  works  of  Maunstein,  Caruth  and 
INIanuel  Garcia,  all  advise  thoracic  respiration  by  the  elevation  of  the 
ribs  and  drawing  in  of  the  abdomen. 

If  we  take  up  any  work  upon  the  voice  and  studj'  the  photographic 
appearances  of  the  cords  during  the  emission  of  certain  notes,  we 
remark  that  the  cords  are  not  vibrating  longitudinally,  but  that  their 
free  borders  approximate,  touch  or  overlap,  and  that  the  posterior 
opening  of  the  chink  is  longer  or  shorter  and  different  in  appearance 
for  each  note.  I  wish  to  put  on  record  here  my  opinion,  of  the  absolute 
impossibility  of  photographing  the  vocal-cords  during  the  proper  emis- 
sion of  tone,  fi'om  the  verj^  fact  that  the  laryngoscopic  mirror  placed  in 
the  ])harj'^nx  interferes  with  the  right  focus  of  the  respiratory  attack, 
and  it  is  only  possible  to  observe  the  vocal-cords  in  the  photograph 
when  the  so-called  stroke  of  the  glottis  is  used  in  the  emission  of  a  note. 
The  photographs  of  singers'  cords,  and  the  deductions  that  have  been 
drawn  from  their  appearance  during  the  emission  of  different  notes, 
only  demonstrate,  in  every  case  that  I  have  ever  seen,  that  the  larynx 
is  elevated  by  the  pulling  up  of  the  thyroid,  the  cords  relaxed,  and  the 
free  borders  more  or  less  approximated.  If  we  ask  a  singer  who  is  in 
the  habit  of  using  the  so-called  high-chest  method  of  costal-respiration 
to  take  a  note  (the  attack  entirely  taken  from  the  cords  and  focussed  in 
the  masciue,  bringing  into  play  the  hai-monics  lent  by  the  sound-waves 
passing  behind  the  uvula  and  soft-palate),  introducing  the  smallest  pos- 
sible size  of  mirror,  so  that  the  color  given  to  the  note  by  nature's 
resonance-pipes,  the  antra  and  nasal  cavities,  will  be  as  little  as  possible 
interfered  with,  we  are  surprised  to  find  that  on  the  emission  of  every 
note  of  the  soprano  medium  register  the  cords  appear  equidistant  from 
each  other,  throughout  the  entire  extent  that  it  is  possible  to  see  them. 

The  part  which  the  intrinsic  muscles  of  the  larynx  play  in  the  ten- 
sion of  the  vocal-cords  becomes  an  interesting  study.  It  is  very  easy  for 
us  to  see  by  the  depression  of  the  thyroid  how  the  |cords  must  be  elon- 
gated, but  it  is  extremely  ditficult  for  us  to  comprehend  the  minute  dif- 
ferences of  tension  caused  by  the  movements  of  the  thyroarytenoid  and 
cricoarytenoid  muscles.     I  have  frequently  been  surprised  upon  exami- 


nation  of  the  vocal-cords  with  the  head  held  down,  the  chin  resting  upon 
the  chest,  to  find  the  cords  present  a  beautiful  pearly  appearance, 
entirely  homogeneous ;  but  upon  attempting  to  show  the  patient  his  own 
cords  by  an  adjustment  of  double  mirrors,  the  head  being  slightly  thrown 
back,  upon  the  same  note  the  cords  suddenly  have  become  dusky,  semi- 
congested  and  striated.  How  much  of  this  is  due  to  the  slight  elevation 
of  the  thyroid  cartilage,  and  how  much  to  the  intrinsic  muscles  of  the 
larjmx,  or  to  the  relationship  between  the  chink  of  the  glottis  and  the 
trachea,  it  is  difficult  to  determine.  To  a  careful  study  of  these  differ- 
ences of  tension  am  I  indebted  for  the  discovery  of  a  fact  which  I  here 
write  about  for  the  first  time,  the  appreciation  of  which  fact,  however, 
has  entirely  changed  my  treatment  of  the  singing-larynx  and  has  caused 
me  to  institute  a  system  of  tone  exercises  by  which  certain  intrinsic 
muscles  of  the  larynx  are  so  strengthened,  that  any  medicinal  application 
through  the  medium  of  sprays,  probangs,  and  I  may  say  instrumenta- 
tion, has  oft-times  been  entirely  done  away  with. 

If  we  take  a  good  sized  laryngoscopic  muTor,  No.  4  for  example,  and 
ask  a  patient  to  sing  E  or  Ah,  the  cords  come  into  view  for  two  reasons : 
First,  the  epiglottis  becomes  more  perpendicular,  allowing  a  better  view 
of  the  bands,  and,  secondly,  the  cords  themselves  are  on  a  more  elevated 
plane,  owing  to  a  slight  elevation  of  the  thyroid  cartilage  and  con- 
sequent relaxation  of  the  intrinsic  tensors  of  the  cords.  In  this 
position  we  remark  that  the  free  borders  of  the  cords  come  together 
in  the  anterior  and  central  portions,  and  we  are  able  to  study  the  initial 
tone  attack,  the  membrane  separating  as  the  tone  bursts  through  the 
closed  chink.  This  picture  may  be  said  to  be  an  imitation  on  a  small 
scale,  of  the  so-called  stroke  of  the  glottis.  In  this  method  of  producing 
a  tone,  the  initial  attack  being  upon  the  cords  themselves,  the  central 
portions  of  the  cords  necessarily  touch.  The  pecular  muscular 
equilibrium  which  is  employed  in  this  mode  of  attack,  invites  a 
reflex  elevation  of  the  soft-palate,  cutting  off  the  oral  from  the  nasal 
cavities.  As  we  look  at  this  picture  our  minds  revert  to  the  singing 
teacher  who  commands  her  pupils  to  keep  their  palates  up,  sing  in  the 
back  of  their  heads,  and  strike  the  glottis.  Could  ever  villainy  be  more 
compounded  ?  Let  us  take  the  same  patient  and  requu-e  him  to  sing  the 
same  note,  but  in  an  entirely  different  way.  We  win  first  ask  him  to 
expand  his  upper-chest,  not  necessarily  by  respiration,  but  by  elevation 
of  the  superior  ribs  by  a  muscular  effort,  at  the  same  time  slightly 
drawing  in  the  abdominal  wall.  We  now  introduce  the  smallest  mirror 
and  ask  our  patient  to  sing  A,  pronounced  as  in  law,  or  maw.  With  this 
position  of  the  larynx  and  muscular  poise  we  observe  two  things :  First, 
the  epiglottis  does  not  assume  its  most  vertical  aspect,  not  iuclining  as 
near  the  perpendicular,  and  the  soft-palate  and  uvula  do  not  spring  up- 
ward and  backward  to  make  the  partition  between  the  mouth  and  naso- 
pharynx. Different  in  every  respect  is  the  tone  produced  by  'the  cords, 
which  may  be  assumed  to  vibrate  longitudinally,  but  never  touching 


each  other  in  the  middle  jiortion,  even  in  making  th(»  initial  attack.  The 
cords  appear  narrower,  tenser,  lower  anteriorly,  ecpiidistant  from  each 
other,  more  liomogeneous  and  whiter  in  color. 

These  two  pictures  should  be  well  considered,  as  they  become  the 
basis  of  criticism  in  distinguishing  the  correct  and  eliminating  incorrect 
methods  on  the  one  hand  in  singers'  voices,  and  of  the  greatest  assist- 
tance  to  the  laryngologist  in  correcting  i)atiu)logiral  conditions,  the 
result  of  bad  training.  Tlie  ])n)i)er  appreciation  of  these  oi)i)oslte  condi- 
tions and  their  effect  on  the  (luality  of  tone  immediately  calls  our  atten 
tion  to  the  subject  of  respiration. 

Within  the  past  three  years  the  entire  theory  of  musical  education 
has  changed  in  France;  the  explanation  of  this  change  being  that  there 
is  at  present  a  better  appreciation  of  the  influences  bearing  upon  the 
production  of  tone  and  a  better  understanding  of  the  physiology  of  the 
larynx  by  reason  of  the  advances  made  in  laryngoscopy. 

Modern  t«iching  tends  to  cultivate  tone  harmonies  and  sympathy 
in  the  voice  at  the  expense  of  brilliancy  of  execution.  The  same  judg- 
ment sliould  be  exercised  in  the  training  of  an  individual  who  proposes 
to  make  singing  his  or  her  art,  as  .should  be  employed  in  advising  the 
painter  that  his  sijecial  forte  lies  in  landscapes,  rich  in  color,  to  which  he 
may  give  expression  to  his  imaginative  genius,  rather  than  to  the  sterner 
fac  simile  of  portraiture. 

How  many  singers  we  hear  whose  technique  and  brilliant  staccato 
in  the  Bell  Song  of  Lakme  calls  forth  our  admiration  and  amazement, 
but  who  are  as  absolutely  unable  to  put  any  sympathy  whatsoever  into 
the  simplest  ballad.  We  should  study  color  harmonies  in  music  in  the 
same  way  that  they  must  be  studied  in  painting.  There  is  no  rule  for 
the  palpitating  sunlight  effects  and  prismatic  play  of  colors  in  the  school 
of  Claude  Monet;  it  is  certainly  a  subtile  feeling  which  is  given  by  an 
ingenious  mingling  of  pure  spectrum  colors.  In  the  human  voice,  that 
added  coloring  of  tone,  which  appeals  to  the  heart  as  well  as  to  the  ear 
of  the  listener,  must  be  brought  about  by  the  employment  of  those  har- 
monics, which  are  added  to  the  original  tone  by  intervibrations  within 
the  accessor^'  cavities  of  the  nasal  passages.  To  sing  dans  le  viasque, 
as  the  French  say,  is  to  give  this  added  richness  to  the  initial  tone;  but 
to  sing  in  this  manner  requires  the  soft-palate  and  uvula  to  be  lowered 
in  the  production  of  tone.  Likewise  to  make  the  purest  initial  tone  from 
the  cords,  we  must  get  the  utmost  possible  tension,  which  may  only  be 
arrived  at  when  the  thyroid,  or  "Adam's  apple,"  is  depressed,  for  in  pro- 
portion as  the  thyroid  is  elevated,  the  cords  tend  to  assume  the  base  of  a 
right  angle  triangle  instead  of  its  hypotenuse.  Several  elements  beside 
this  enter  into  the  question  of  the  gi'eatest  possible  tension,  one  of  the 
most  important  of  which  is,  that  the  trachea  be  drawn  down  to  assume 
the  position  that  it  takes  when  the  apices  of  the  lungs  are  filled  to  their 
greatest  extent  with  air.  One  of  the  greatest  singers  that  the  world  has 
ever  known  told  me,  that  the  reason  he  adopted  a  fixed  high  chest  was, 


—  9  — 

that  lie  had  found  after  an  operation  performed  on  one  of  his  cords,  that 
the  only  way  in  which  he  could  be  at  all  sure  of  his  voice  while  singing, 
was  in  the  maintenance  of  the  so-called  high  chest  respiration.  This  is 
easily  explained  by  the  fact,  that  in  this  position  the  upper  ribs  remain- 
ing fixed,  the  apices  of  the  lungs  always  remaining  in  contact  with  the 
thoracic  wall,  are  expanded  to  then-  fullest  extent ;  the  cords  tending  to 
keep  in  their  state  of  greatest  possible  tension.  In  this  position  the 
breathing  becomes  entirely  inferior-costal  and  diaphragmatic.  The  posi- 
tion of  the  thoracic  cavity  as  indicated  above  permits  the  lungs  to  expand 
to  their  fullest  extent,  thus  adding  a  secondary  resonance  to  the  voice 
from  below — a  sort  of  complementary  timbre — the  fixed  upper  thorax 
allowing  of  the  least  possible  change  of  color  during  tone -production. 

It  is  this  combination  of  facial  and  thoracic  tone  fortification,  which 
gives  the  enormous  carrying  power  to  tones  produced  by  this  method. 
For  a  number  of  years,  before  I  made  a  special  study  and  estimated  the 
great  sigiiificance  of  these  factors  in  singing,  I  have  deluged  the  throats 
of  singers  with  sedative  and  astringent  sprays  when  their  cords  appeared 
congested  and  swollen,  oftimes  presenting  nodules  in  their  centre  which 
I  had  never  previously  recognized  as  being  due  entii'ely  to  singing  with 
an  improperly  poised  larynx. 

I  may  cite  several  cases  to  show  you  the  difference  from  a  medical 
standpoint,  in  the  treatment  of  the  singer's  throat,  where  I  now  substi- 
tute respiratory  and  tone  exercise  for  the  amelioration  of  conditions, 
that  I  have  always  been  taught  were  only  to  be  cured  by  rest  and  the 
diligent  use  of  drugs.  The  cases  cited  are  typical  of  a  class  of  singers 
which  I  have  treated  with  equally  good  results,  since  I  have  made  a  par- 
ticular study  of  the  peculiar  value  of  the  proper  tone  production  in  the 
human  voice. 

The  first  day  of  January  last  I  was  consulted  by  Miss  F. ,  age  twenty- 
three,  who  had  had  a  contralto  voice  of  large  power  which  she  had  em- 
ployed constantly  for  several  years,  and  had  finally,  after  a  prolonged 
concert  tour  with  a  well-known  orchestra,  entirely  broken  down.  Her 
cords  were  congested  with  a  slight  nodule  in  the  middle  of  either  band ; 
she  complained  of  great  pain  in  producing  her  notes,  and  her  medium 
register  had  no  power  in  it  whatsoever.  She  had  been  told  by  two  of 
the  best  authorities  on  the  throat  that  she  must  not  sing  a  note  for  a 
year,  and  must  have  her  cords  painted  with  astringent  solutions  and 
tone  up  her  general  health.  Upon  testing  her  voice,  I  remarked  an  ex- 
tremely breathy  tone  and  clavicular  respiration. 

In  accordance  with  the  principles  which  I  have  attempted  to  demon- 
strate, I  forbade  her  speaking  a  single  word  for  a  week,  but  placed  her 
at  once  upon  the  so-called  inferior- costal  respiration,  maintaining  a  high 
chest,  and  giving  her  directions  to  take  a  medium  "C"  with  the  chin 
almost  resting  upon  the  clavicle,  singing  the  word  "ma"  for  five 
minutes  of  each  hour  of  the  day,  the  tone  first  to  be  f ocussed  in  the  face 
with  the  mouth  closed,  and  the  attack  to  break  upon  the  lips  as  much  as 


—  10  — 

possible  on  opening  the  mouth.  At  the  enrl  of  seven  days  the  cords, 
instead  of  presenting  an  elliptical  appearance,  were  straight,  and  the 
nodule  was  so  far  rotated  upward  on  either  cord,  that  it  did  not  touch 
the  nodule  of  the  o])posite  side  in  the  emission  of  tone.  At  the  end  of 
the  week  this  young  lady,  who  considered  her  voice  hopelessly  destroyed, 
liaving  acquired  a  new  method  of  resjiiration.  sang  in  a  concert.  She  has 
since  sung  regularly  in  church,  in  many  oratorios  during  the  Avinter, 
and  is  at  present  singing  three  times  a  week  in  grand  opera,  learning 
new  roles  continually,  apparently  perfectly  restored.  She  tells  me  her 
voice  is  far  more  powerful  than  she  had  ever  anticipated. 

Case  II:— Miss  P.  H.  consulted  me  on  March  2  in  great  distress. 
She  was  obliged  to  sing  in  a  comic  opera  on  that  evening  or  close  the 
theatre.  Examination  .showed  inflamed  and  bulged  cords  with  great 
hoarseness  in  the  sjieaking  voice;  middle  register  impossible,  but  the 
high  notes  obtained  with  great  effort.  I  sent  her  at  once  to  my  assistant 
who  gave  her  exercises  to  maintain  tension  and  at  the  end  of  an  hour's 
work  with  tension  exercises  and  inferior-costal  breathing  the  cords 
responded  and  she  sang  with  ease. 

Case  III :— Miss  H.  B.  consulted  me  in  May  having  lost  her  position 
as  prima  donna  by  reason  of  loss  of  voice.  Had  been  constantly  treated. 
Her  cords  showed  the  nodules  of  attrition,  the  result  of  the  employment 
of  the  coup  dc  (jlotte  and  faulty  respiration.  In  this  case  a  week's  work 
caused  the  nodules  to  disappear.  She  adopted  a  proper  laryngeal  poise 
and  again  assumed  the  leading  role. 

Observation : — In  this  class  of  cases,  rest  causes  a  relaxation  of  the 
cords  and  singing  becomes  impossible  for  some  time,  whereas,  constant 
work  with  tension  of  the  cords  and  non-approximation  of  the  same, 
gives  immediate  relief. 

Case  IV :— Fraulein  K.  consulted  me  in  the  spring,  her  cords  ap- 
peared swollen  and  the  membrane  was  injured  but  not  hyperiemic.  Had 
been  obliged  to  cancel  her  engagements  and  return  to  New  York  for 
treatment.  I  recognized  the  familiar  picture  and  sent  her  to  my  assist- 
ant, who  cured  her  in  a  week  without  other  treatment  than  the  establish- 
ment of  a  proper  laryngeal  poise. 

With  many  cases  like  these  may  I  not  be  excused,  in  calling  atten- 
tion to  what  I  consider  the  most  important  ground  principle  of  the 
singer's  art,  namely :  The  proper  employment  of  the  muscles  of  respira- 
tion, the  poise  given  the  cords  and  the  proper  use  of  the  intrinsic 
muscles  of  the  larynx,  not  forgetting  thebringing  into  play  of  the 
accessor}^  cavities  of  the  face,  which  lend  so  much  color  to  the  tone, 
removing  entirely  from  the  cords  the  deleterious  effects  of  an  improper 
initial  attack  ? 

To  rehear.se  briefly  the  deductions  wliicli  I  have  attempted  to  draw 
from  my  argument,  I  maintain  that  the  best  method  of  respiration  is 
the  inferior-costal  or  diaphragmatic,  faithfully  maintaining  the  ele- 
vation of  the  upper  ribs  without  raising  the  shoulders.     Next  in  im- 


— 11  — 

portance  is  the  depression  of  the  thyroid  cartilage,  brought  about 
through  the  agency  of  the  crico-thyi-oid  muscles,  and  the  pulling  down 
of  the  trachea,  by  increasing  the  capacity  of  the  upper  lobes  of  the  lung. 
Anatomically  speaking  a  pose  causing  the  thyro-arytenoid  muscles  to  pro- 
duce tension  instead  of  the  cricoarytenoids.  Be  careful  that  the  initial 
attack  is  removed  entirely  from  the  cords.  Lower  the  uvula  and  soft- 
palate,  that  the  sound-waves  may  obtain  their  intercurrent  vibrations 
or  harmonics,  by  partly  passing  into  the  nasal  cavities  from  behind. 
Let  us  not  fall  into  the  error,  that  the  roof  of  the  mouth  alone  is  the 
sounding  board  of  the  singing  voice,  for  without  that  added  richness 
and  timbre  to  be  given  by  calling  into  play  nature's  resonance  pipes, 
the  nose  and  its  accessory  cavities,  we  may  perhaps  sing,  but  the  singing 
is  at  the  expense  of  the  cords,  and  the  life  of  the  voice  is  necessarily 
shortened. 

If  I  have  said  enough  to  arouse  a  new  interest  in  what  I  consider  a 
most  necessary  accessory  to  laryngology,  I  shall  feel  amply  repaid  for 
my  endeavors  to  set  the  theme  before  you  in  a  clear  and  comprehensive 
manner, 


'.  -/;  ■    .. 


r-"'  ,-. 


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